Vlastimil Brodský (15 December 1920 in Hrušov – 20 April 2002 in Slunečná) was a respected Czech actor. He appeared in over 90 films, and is considered a key figure in the postwar development of Czech cinema.

One of his best-known roles was as the title character in Jakob, der Lügner (1975). He won the Silver Bear for Best Actor for his performance at the 25th Berlin International Film Festival. The film was remade in 1999 as Jakob the Liar. He also played the king in the hit children's TV series Arabela and as Alois Drchlík in The Visitors.

His final film role was as a pensioner named Frantisek in Babi Leto (Autumn Summer). This role earned him his first and only Czech Lion (a prestigious film award), for best actor.

He was married to Jana Brejchová for 16 years before getting a divorce; together they had a daughter, actress Tereza Brodská. Brodský also had a son, actor Marek Brodský. Brodský committed suicide on 20 April 2002.

Jiří Sovák (27 December 1920 – 6 September 2000) was a Czech actor, best known for his comedy roles.

Jiří Sovák was born Jiří Schmitzer to the family of an innkeeper in Prague. In 1941 he graduated from Prague State Conservatory where he had been studying drama. His father did not want him to be an actor, so he worked as a clerk and played in an amateur theatre group (today Divadlo Rokoko). In 1943 he got his first professional engagement with Horácké divadlo in Třebíč. During military service he met Miroslav Horníček and made friends for life. In 1947 he went to Prague where he played in the E.F. Burian Theatre (1947–1952), Vinohrady Theatre (1952–1966) and National Theatre (1966–1983). He retired on 31 March 1983. In 2000 he fell down on his terrace, broke his hip and got an embolism during his operation. He died in a Prague hospital before he was 80. He is buried in Stříbrná Skalice, in a private grave closed to the public.

Karel Čapek (Czech pronunciation: [ˈkarɛl ˈtʃapɛk] ( listen)) (January 9, 1890 – December 25, 1938) was a Czech writer of the 20th century.

Born in 1890 in the Bohemian mountain village of Malé Svatoňovice to an overbearing, emotional mother and a distant yet adored father, Čapek was the youngest of three siblings. Čapek would maintain a close relationship with his brother Josef, living and writing with him throughout his adult life.

Čapek became enamored with the visual arts in his teenage years, especially Cubism. He studied in Prague at Charles University and at the Sorbonne in Paris. Exempted from military service due to the spinal problems that would haunt him his whole life, Čapek observed World War I from Prague. His political views were strongly affected by the war, and as a budding journalist he began to write on topics like nationalism and totalitarianism. Through social circles, the young writer developed close relationships with many of the political leaders of the nascent Czechoslovakian state. This included Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and his son Jan, who would later become president and foreign secretary.